Conventionally, there is known a memory card which is a card type storage.
Since a flash memory is adopted as a storage medium, this memory card is small in size and consumes almost no electric power for reading-out and writing of data. In addition, unlike disk type storages such as a flexible disk (FD) and a magneto-optical disk (MO), the memory card does not require a drive unit.
Therefore, the memory card is widely used as a storage medium for portable devices such as a digital camera, a cellular phone with a camera, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a notebook personal computer, and a portable music player.
Incidentally, the memory card is smaller in storage capacity and higher in price compared with the disk type storages such as a flexible disk (FD) and a magneto-optical disk (MO).
However, the storage capacity of the memory card has been increased to about 128 MB at the maximum with the advance of technology in recent years. In addition, in accordance with the spread of portable devices using the memory card, the memory card has been produced in large quantities. As a result, a price for the memory card has fallen.
The above-mentioned memory card is connected to a connector mounted on the portable devices. Such a connector has a structure into which memory cards of different thicknesses can be easily inserted (e.g., see Japanese Utility Model Registration No. 3079263).
The connector includes a flat base having a C shape in plane and substrates covering upper and lower surfaces of this base. Plural slots, which house memory cards, are formed in the base. These slots have different widths and heights according to widths and thicknesses of the memory cards. On the other hand, the substrates include contact parts in association with the respective memory cards.
Consequently, no matter which memory card is inserted into the connector, the contact parts of the substrates are electrically connected to the memory card. Therefore, plural kinds of memory cards with different shapes can be housed in one connector.
However, when a memorycard is inserted into the connector, the memory card comes into contact with not only corresponding contact parts but also the other contact parts.
For example, the connector has a structure in which an MMC, a Smart Media (registered trademark) card, and a memory stick card can be housed. When a memory stick card is inserted into the connector, an outer surface of this memory card comes into contact with contact parts for MMC.
Therefore, according to circumstances, the contact parts for MMC are worn simply by repeatedly inserting and pulling out the memory stick card, and durability of the contact parts for MMC cannot be secured sufficiently.
In particular, gilding is applied to contacts of the contact parts in order to connect the contact parts to a memory card surely. Thus, the gilding is worn by repeatedly inserting and pulling out the memory stick card.